| Trailokya Aryal |
Posted
on 07-Jul-01 05:22 PM
I was a study abroad student in Shanghai in the fall of 1998. This is from my diary. As anyone reading this can infer, this was written when I first got there. I hope you all will enjoy reading the excerpts from my diary and please feel free to comment.
Thanks.
Trailokya Aryal
From the diary of a waiguo (foreigner) in Hua Shi Da* Shanghai,
Shanghai
Shanghai, to me has an image of a place where two totally conflicting ideas of Capitalism and Socialism coexist as they were made for each other. Beside, this queer political economy, this place has more wonders than any other place I have ever been in my life. The city, if I were to describe (I haven’t traveled much, but the knowledge I gained through my limited traveling) is like Manhattan and New Delhi combined together in one place. The skyscrapers of downtown Shanghai, especially around the Bund (wai tan) have the same view of that of the Wall Street. The city also resembles New Delhi in terms of noise, pollution, crowded buses, population and the weather. Its so damn humid! On one corner of this wonderland lies Hua Dong Shi Fan Da Xue (East China Normal University), which has become my home for the next four months to come.
One may wonder, at least I was wondering when I came to this university that what is the meaning of word NORMAL in the name of the university. After much of brain storming and asking everyone that I came across, I figured out that normal is just a translation of Chinese word for teacher’s training college.
My HOME:
On the backside of this normal university, there are two guesthouses made especially for study abroad students like us. All the students of study abroad programs affiliated with Hua Shi Da are housed in these guesthouses. And my group is being generously housed in the Guest House no.1. The guesthouse has two levels. I haven’t been able to figure out what they call those levels in Chinese, but in English, I do not hesitate to write those as First Class (the first two floors where rich students/teachers/guests reside enjoying the privilege of walking on the carpeted floor, and have their own bathrooms). The Second class (where residents enjoy a total cultural immersion by relieving themselves in the communal trench and by using the communal shower. plus walk on the once-in-a-year mopped floor) is where we reside happily immersing ourselves totally with the socialist/holistic culture of China. Our rooms are filled with wonders too.
Room no. 321 (needless to say, its on the third floor) is what I along with Tim, Jonathan and three of our Chinese roommates take pride in calling our home. The room has all the inventions that are supposed to make life easier. Air Conditioner (whatta surprise!), which is right by Tim’s bed, facing the window, always has trouble throwing out cool air. Television (yet, another surprise) gets my occasional attention but because of the big language barrier between the Chinese only TV, and us we haven’t been able to take its full advantage. The biggest surprise, however, is a phone, which has Jonathan as its registered user. Others being new to this city and having no one to call to are far behind Jonathan who is making Graham Bell happy by getting the most out of his invention. The other stuff include: empty water bottles (all mine), two Discmans with speaker hook up, couple of chairs desks and three sets of bunk beds. All the down ones are taken by us (Tim, John and me) and all the top ones are taken by our Chinese room-mates (Zhang, Shu, and Wang). The best thing about having Chinese roommates is, one does not need alarm clock to wake up at 5:30 in the morning. The sound of roommates jumping off their beds to go run every morning wakes the lazy foreigners sleeping on the bottom beds.
But the best part is, our dorm is right in front of the all-girls dorm :-). I would seriously live here forever, and do nothing but just stare out of the window and sing “xin tai ruan”.
The Computer lab
One thing that really makes me feel that I am in China is when I log on to the Socialist computers at the computer lab. Socialist in a sense that there is absolutely no privacy. The email system requires password to log on, however, the system is not protected. I can log on as Taryal and spend hours and hours on those computers reading other peoples’ mails—a form of entertainment almost unimaginable in the States.
The students
The description would be incomplete, if I don’t describe the students of Hua Dong Shi Da. I haven’t been able to talk to students much, but by observing their body language and clothing, I can say that the west has penetrated the Chinese society, and has influenced the students more than anybody else. Students seem to have a lot of free time (since the concept of work-study is yet to come from the States). They utilize their free time hanging out with their boyfriends/girlfriends. Bunch of Students who are yet to find their soul mates utilize their time playing sports, especially Basketball and Soccer. The other bunch, especially of the male students spend their time playing PC games.
TBC..........
Trailokya
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